Sweet Days of Summer
by StatsGrandma57
Summary: Han and Leia contemplate their life and love after the marriage of their youngest child. Oneshot.


SWEET DAYS OF SUMMER

A soft, sea breeze parted the bedroom curtains, allowing bright streaks of sunlight to caress the sleeping forms of Han and Leia Solo. Moving to Corellia when Leia retired from public service had been the best decision they'd ever made. In the twenty years since they'd escaped the urban hellhole that was Coruscant, they hadn't regretted it for a moment.

Yesterday, their youngest child, Jarik, had married a lovely woman named Lysendra, in a joyful wedding, filled with love and laughter. The bride—who's life's calling was as a medic—came from a prominent Corellian family. During the Galactic Civil War, Lysendra's father had risked life and livelihood to provide much needed parts and supplies to the Rebellion. Since then, honesty and a good head for business had made him and his family comfortably wealthy.

For Jarik, like his father before him, the young man had found his princess.

Leia stirred, gazing through sleepy eyes at her husband, who snored lightly at her side. She marveled at how, despite his seventy-one years, Han Solo somehow still managed to look like an innocent little boy. His wrinkles had deepened over the years, and his hair had gone to silver, evidence of a life filled with, hardships, deep happiness, and above all, love. Leia smiled at him, thinking, _I am the luckiest woman who ever lived—or ever will._

Nestling closer, Leia settled her head against Han's heart, listening to its slow, steady beat, and his even breathing. His snoring, far from being a nuisance, was a comfort to her—as it had been for nearly four decades. His skin was warm, his body hair still soft even as it had gone to grey. As she curled around him, her arm draped across his abdomen, a tiny smile played on her husband's lips.

Han stretched, and pulled Leia nearer to him. "Trying to wake an old guy up?" he teased, his voice husky with sleep.

Leia chuckled softly, a throaty sound Han always delighted in. "I thought we'd stay here in bed all day," Leia countered.

"We could," Han murmured. "It's not like we have to be anywhere today." The weeks leading up to the wedding could have been described as hectic, but Han thought that might be an understatement.

Leia sighed with pleasure. She thought back to the first time she and Han were together in his bunk, so many years ago it felt like lifetimes had passed. And yet, the same tenderness, the same safety, and the same joy in each other's presence they'd experienced then was still flowed between them—deeper than ever. Years of marriage, children, work, danger, exhaustion and exhilaration had given them a deep, rich history—and a love to match.

Leia's hands traveled gently over her husband's body, prompting him to roll over to face her,

placing a soft kiss on her lips. Leia marveled at how warm they were and how wonderful he tasted; it was as true today as it had been on the day in the circuitry bay so long ago. Her core began to warm, the familiar flutter in her stomach bringing a huge smile to her face.

Han's eyes were open now, and he smiled at her, that wonderful, boyish, mischievous and tender smile that never ceased to dazzle Leia. And while his eyes had plenty of lines around them, their green and gold still sparkled with a lively intelligence-and desire for the woman he loved so dearly. He wrapped his arms about her and pulled her close. They spent several minutes drinking in each other's scent and sensations.

Han buried his face in his wife's tangled locks. "We showed the kids how it's done on the dance floor last night," he murmured. "How about we show 'em how this dance is done?"

"I'd prefer that they didn't watch," Leia giggled softly as she gathered Han into her arms.

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Shirtless, Han sat on the veranda, savoring the warmth of the morning light. A steady breeze, redolent of salt and sun, dried his disheveled hair. Beyond a ribbon of glistening white sand, the South Corellian Sea sparkled under a turquoise sky.

Han turned his head and opened his eyes at the sound of a door sliding open. Leia emerged from the house, her long hair draped loosely over her shoulders, damp and shining from the shower. Clad only in the shirt she had purloined from Han decades ago when he'd been captive in carbonite, she carried two mugs of kaf. His breath quickened; he was still amazed at how beautiful she was.

"Thought you could use some of this," Leia said with a smile, handing him a steaming mug.

"Hmm, because you ravished me and completely wore me out?" Han winked at her, his hazel eyes glinting.

"Very funny, Flyboy," Leia teased him, taking her seat at the table.

"Aren't I, though?" Han flashed the boyish grin that age couldn't diminish. Leia rolled her eyes, but her expression was a combination of adoration and exasperation. It was one familiar to Han; it had gotten plenty of use over the years.

"You always have driven me crazy," Leia shook her head.

"Well, we've got one less person around here to do that now," Han said, sounding both happy and sad. "Last one's married off. I can't believe it."

"It was a great wedding," Leia said, her dark eyes misty.

"Yeah, my boy found his princess," agreed Han.

Leia set her mug down on the table. "Do you think letting them take the _Falcon_ on their honeymoon was a great idea?"

Han looked up. "No. But Lysendra'll beat the crap out of him if he tries anything crazy." They both laughed. Lysendra was a great match for Jarik. While she shared his warped sense of humor, hers was accompanied by an uncommon amount of good sense, something their son sorely lacked at times. He did have excellent business acumen; this was important, as he and his sister Jaina had taken over the shipping business that Han had founded after the fall of the Empire. He'd been offered various military and government positions at the war's end, but he always was, above all, an independent businessman, and Leia had supported him completely. Now age, and its accompanying aches and pains, had taken their toll on Han; he left most of the freight runs to his kids and his employees. However, he still worked on his first baby—the _Falcon_ —as often as he was able. There was still, in his mind, no one who could take care of her as well as he could.

"Every time one of the kids gets married, it always takes me back to our own wedding day," Leia said dreamily.

"Same here," responded Han. "Course, none of our sons had as gorgeous a bride as I did." Han gave her a smile full of mischief.

"Han! Our daughters-in-law are all lovely women!" objected Leia.

"They definitely are," Han agreed. "But there was no woman who was ever so beautiful as the one I waited for at the altar."

Leia looked him in the eye. "Tell me, were you nervous?" He'd never admitted to it, although Leia suspected it. "You seemed pretty calm to me."

"Hungover."

Han's eyes twinkled wickedly, though he quickly relented when he saw the look of horror in his wife's eyes

"I'm joking!" Han laughed. "I was nervous as hells. You have no idea."

"I always wondered," Leia remarked, smiling in relief.

"I felt better once you said 'I will,'" Han assured her.

"Did you seriously think I wouldn't?" asked Leia in astonishment.

Han squirmed a little. "It wasn't so much that...I was just thinking, maybe I wasn't up for the job. Maybe I was out of my depth. That I didn't deserve you."

"Funny, I was having the same thoughts when I walked down the aisle," Leia said, giving him a wistful smile.

Han raised a skeptical eyebrow. "I kept waiting for you to figure out what a mistake you were making." He cracked a smile, but there was a vulnerability in his joking.

Leia took his large hand in her tiny one. Both were wrinkled and were evidence of their lifelong efforts. "I was wondering what I'd done to deserve true love, when I never even imagined I'd find it. We both were very lucky." Her face, showing all of her sixty-one years, had never looked more luminous to Han.

"Still are," Han assured her, placing his second hand over hers. "I'm glad that I chose liking you over killing you the day we met."

"I think I would have opted for killing you that day," Leia deadpanned. "Except that I'd discovered that you had a nice ass. And I liked the low cut shirt."

"Why, Your Highness! I never took you for the shallow type!" Han said in mock shock, his eyes lighting up.

"You know very well I can be at least as shallow as you," Leia teased him. "And I know you were studying my ass as well."

"I liked what I felt when I had my hands on it," Han said. Before Leia's eyes, he'd turned into a young man again.

"You had your hands on my hips, not my ass," she corrected him, chuckling.

"Yes, but if we weren't in danger of being smashed to death in a trash masher, I'd have-"

"No, you wouldn't have," Leia said gently.

Han gave a lopsided smile. "You're right. I kind of figured if I did, I wouldn't have to wait for the masher to kill us."

Leia laughed. "And it's been said you have no brains."

"I knew you were a force of nature the moment I met you. I know better than to mess with things

like that," Han assured her. "So not as brainless as I get credit for."

Hands clasped together, the couple moved to the railing, watching as the sea lapped softly against the sand. The breeze ruffled Han's hair and molded the shirt against Leia's generous curves. That day on the Death Star, decades before, neither of them could have imagined sharing a moment of peace underneath a golden sun. Neither of them could have dreamed that one day they would be living in a state of grace.

It had been an incredible journey.

"You know I was crazy about you about five minutes after I met you," Han said, placing his arm around his wife's shoulders.

"I thought you were ready to strangle me," Leia joked, tilting her head up to look at her husband's face. "I was ready to strangle you, you know."

"I figure you've been wanting to strangle me for over forty years now," Han said.

"I've had my moments," she admitted with a laugh. "And no doubt you have, too." Leia's arm snaked around Han's waist; years ago they'd concluded this was the perfect fit.

"I refuse to comment," he teased back. "I prefer staying alive."

"And I've always been grateful that you never rushed me, never told me what to think, what to feel, and what to say," Leia told him, gazing up at him.

"I've always liked staying in one piece," Han quipped. "And," he hesitated for a heartbeat, then continued. "I was in love with you, and honestly, I had no idea how to deal with that. I'd never felt like that about anyone before, and it was more than a little scary."

"I think falling in love scared me more than fighting the Empire," Leia admitted, watching the sea birds land and take off. "That is, until I finally admitted it to myself. And once we had the kiss in the circuitry bay...well, I was done for." She gave Han a warm, almost shy smile. "And since I'm a one and done kind of girl, well—you were the one."

The two continued to hold hands as they walked from the veranda down to the beach. The soft sand sifted beneath their bare feet while they strolled along the water's edge. Their pace was slower now than in days past, but that was a good thing—it allowed them to soak in everything around them.

It was a beautiful day, and, somehow, its very beauty seemed to illuminate their love and commitment to one another. The same feelings had affected them both after the Alliance victory at

Endor had set them on the path to a better life. It made them feel one with nature.

"I can't believe our kids are all grown up and gone sometimes," Leia mused, watching the warm, clear waves wash over her feet. "It hit me yesterday our baby was really an adult. It struck me a lot harder than I expected."

"Hey, we might actually have some peace and quiet around here for a change," Han observed, pulling her close. He didn't say it, but he'd experienced those same feelings yesterday. Their last child taking his marriage vows reminded both of them that they were no longer young, no longer had children at home. Granted, there were still plenty of occasions on which various children and grandchildren visited and the raucousness of the past returned, but now, there would be no Jarik tearing through the house when he wasn't away on jobs. Jarik had never bothered to move out; he was too busy running the business with Jaina and doing the majority of runs. Lysendra worked with disadvantaged populations, so she, too, was frequently on the move, going to planets where her services were required. At times, these were in areas that were not sympathetic to the GFFA. Like her new husband, she often traveled for work. And like Jarik, Lysendra was a risk taker.

"I think Jarik and Lysendra are going to face a lot of the same challenges we did," Leia mentioned, a note of worry in her voice.

"Yeah, they will," Han agreed. "But we met all of 'em, and we beat 'em. Now look where we are." He gave Leia a comforting squeeze. "They'll do the same. All of the kids have had their hard times." One eyebrow quirked up, highlighting Han's ironic smile. "Let's face it, we became grandparents a little faster than we thought we would and Jacen and Tenel Ka had the odds against them."

"But never tell us the odds," Leia quipped, smiling at the phrase that had been repeated so many times it could serve as their family motto.

"I think all our kids have figured out life's never perfect," Han said quietly. "Ours certainly wasn't."

"And yet it was, and still is," Leia answered, holding Han's hand even more tightly. "Even when we had an apartment full of babies, never getting any sleep and working insane hours, we found happiness. We survived Jacen's spice addiction, Jaina's military service, and somehow, we even survived Jarik." Both laughed heartily. When Leia discovered she was going to have a non-Force sensitive baby, Han figured they were off the hook. Then, their youngest had been born prematurely, but still managed to grow into a force in his own right from there on out.

"I have to confess that I was horrified when I found out I was pregnant again," Leia admitted. "But it ended up being one of the most wonderful parts of our lives."

"Except when we were going to kill him," Han reminded her.

"Well, I still feel like killing all the kids from time to time," Leia admitted. "Especially when I see them making the mistakes we did."

"Whatever mistakes we made, they brought us to where we are today," Han told her. "And I'm damn glad I'm here." Without letting go of her hand, Han turned Leia to face him. In one smooth movement, he pulled her close and lowered his lips to hers. The kiss was as deep and as passionate as the life they shared. "With you."


End file.
